Disco II Air suspension – the definitive guide

OK-Your right there
But being a 7 seater there may be insurance implications of changing to springs.
I'l get the bags checked meantime anyway and price the bags:-(

Hi, i had a problem the same as you have by the sounds of it about 2 years ago where the rear would sometimes drop all the way down but would rise again once started and being driven i had two new air socks fitted to the rear and that was that, to this day it has not droped once, I found a indipendant garage that took on the work and they did a first class job and have now taken on any other work for me they are about to fit a new compressor for me hope you get sorted ok.

Hi, I`ve just finished stripping down the air pump motor on my 03 disco. Inside was damp /rusty which had corroded one of the motor bush springs. Improvised another spring and it works.
Really annoys me that moisture can get in there in the first place......poor manufacturing or deliberate built in obsolescence ?
I`m going to fit a new one for peace of mind.

Hi Guys,

I've been having ongoing problems for about a year with my Disco 2 rear suspension.
Back in May i couldn't stop the compressor from running. Got it over to my local independent who diagnosed a holed air bag (replaced) and a burnt out compressor (replaced).
Just before christmas it started playing up again (kept getting fault lights on dash) had blown fuse and had some strange faults that the dealer couldn't interpret. Any way all faults cleared and seemed fine.
About a month ago suspension dropped one side when parked. Air bag was fitted to other side and found that fuse had gone as well as compressor failed (replaced under warranty).
Anyway, yesterday wife came home and said could hear strange noise. Found to be compressor constantly running. Disconnected fuse and replaced (still running) ran it down the road to settle, pressed height button and allowed to go up to full height and back down. Compressor stopped and now seems ok.

My question - any ideas what's going on now? Isn't there something to stop compressor over running? Both of the times the compressor had cooked itself it melted the angle pipe for the air in connector, so getting very hot, bit worried it may catch fire.

Any help much appreciated.

Thanks

Steve.

Hmm,

The ECU is supposed to monitor the compressor duty cycle to prevent it from nuking itself.

It sounds to me that the fault is either in the SLABS ECU, the wiring to the compressor relay or the compressor relay itself, such that it is jamming 'on'.

I reckon I'd wait til it 'jams' on again, unplug the relay and check its contacts to see whether they are shorted. If not, check to see whether the relay coil is energised. If so, it must be the wiring or the SLABS ecu. Alternatively, you could just try replacing the relay and see if that fixes it?

David
David

Hi All,

First of all thanks to Battenberg for the awesome guide.

I have an intermittent problem with my 03 discovery. Sometimes while driving the rear drops all the way and the ride is really bumpy. If I pull over the rear will sometimes inflate back to the correct height sometimes I have to turn the car off and wait a few minutes and turn it back on again to inflate. I have noticed that when the height drops it is lower on the drivers side where the top of the tyre sits under under the wheel arch. The passenger side has about 2cm between the top of the tyre and the wheel arch.

I thought it might be a leaking bag but when I park sometimes the rear drops and sometimes it doesn't. If it is going to drop I can hear air hissing from the drivers side rear wheel after I stop the car. The next time I start the car it will reinflate. If it doesnt drop when parked it will stay at the same height and have tested for three day with no change.

I am also worried as the ride height warning light has only come on once while driving and i haven't see it again even thought the rear is all the way down. I have taken it to a mechanic and he could not recreate the issue while it was with him. He said the computer had a few errors about the valves not closing but said the same error would be seen with a faulty bag.

I am not sure if the compressor or the airbag would need to be replaced and want to know what i am up for before my next mechanic visit. Can anyone suggest what I can do to isolate the issue

Usually the bags or ride hieght sensors are making this kind of tricks.........they are considered as consumables already, anyway, if u decide to spend some money replace them all....at least u'll be certain for a while about these..........this kind of intermitent problems are very hard to diagnose..........move fast cause if u'll use it this way the finality will be a dead compressor(beside the others)

I didn't really want to spen too much cash to fix this issue if i replace them all it will be a costly exercise.

I had a look over the orginal guide and on the image of the compressor unit has the exhaust valve in the compressor unit. Is this where the excess air is released when the bag is deflated?

I sometimes when I park the car it drops all the way down. I can hear the air escaping from somewhere near the wheel arch on the drivers side. Boths sides drop (drivers side is 2cms lower) but I can only hear the hissing from the drivers side. Would this indicate the DS bag is faulty or is there somewhere in this air where the air is released?

All the valves, including the exhaust are in the compressor's case so i think the bag is leaking........could be de exhaust valve also cause when u leave the car the slabs ecu gives it a command to lower the car a bit an then the valve could remain blocked in open position........ its pretty unlikely but possible.

Great article verry helpfull bought TD5 christmas now got susspension problems
explains system verry well hope to repair soon when home.

Just read 7 pages of threads - all very interesting. I'm having issues with my 99 TD5 Disco 2 and was wonderining if anyone has solved it..
Air suspension drops overnight & rises fine next day.
It doesnt always drop and doesnt aty all during shorter periods (8 hrs while at work = fine)
It never drops if I park up in raised body mode.
If any help can be given - thanks

ant_harvey said:

Just read 7 pages of threads - all very interesting. I'm having issues with my 99 TD5 Disco 2 and was wonderining if anyone has solved it..
Air suspension drops overnight & rises fine next day.
It doesnt always drop and doesnt aty all during shorter periods (8 hrs while at work = fine)
It never drops if I park up in raised body mode.
If any help can be given - thanks

Click to expand...

fit new airbags... they are starting to leak

battenberg said:

fit new airbags... they are starting to leak

Click to expand...

I tried the bubbles test to find any leaks in the bags or pipes and nothing showed up. It looks to me like it goes into Transport Mode or Dropped Height Mode - as described in the definitive guide. I'm not pressing any funny fob buttons though. Some days it drops - for the last 4 days its stayed up (without being used). Could there be an issue caused by uneven ground? Sometimes I park and one of the rear wheels is slightly (5 inches) higher than the other. My feeling is its a valve deciding to release. Would the airbags be inconsistent in deflation over time?

David Pye said:

In fairness, it's a (relatively) cheap fix compared to the expense of changing the compressor.

I got a pair of springs from island4x4 via eBay - easy fit.
PS Get 2 pairs of the metal retaining clips that hold the springs in place at the top - you'll regret it if you don't.


David

Click to expand...

hi i going to coil convert my 7 seat disco i seen the kit on island 4x4 but what r the retaining clips and can u give me a link or idea where to get them from and what to ask for please

Sorry, poorly written by me.

The clips hold the air springs in place, not the coils.

If you are interested, I have a pair of around 6month old coil springs and all the bits needed here, as I converted from coil back to air. Make me an offer - I suspect shipping will be the killer...

Shouldn't this be somewhere else!! this is the common faults section and isn't supposed to be used for general discussions???

sorry

ant_harvey said:

I tried the bubbles test to find any leaks in the bags or pipes and nothing showed up. It looks to me like it goes into Transport Mode or Dropped Height Mode - as described in the definitive guide. I'm not pressing any funny fob buttons though. Some days it drops - for the last 4 days its stayed up (without being used). Could there be an issue caused by uneven ground? Sometimes I park and one of the rear wheels is slightly (5 inches) higher than the other. My feeling is its a valve deciding to release. Would the airbags be inconsistent in deflation over time?

Click to expand...

It seems fine at the moment, I have cleaned all the sensors and sprayed them with 3 in 1. Can anyone tell me what triggers the Dropped height mode?

ant_harvey said:

It seems fine at the moment, I have cleaned all the sensors and sprayed them with 3 in 1. Can anyone tell me what triggers the Dropped height mode?

Click to expand...

if it drops again just replace the bags........as u said can be an uneven ground issue too: the small leak on the bag is showing itself just time to time.......so did mine, once at 1-2-3......weeks.....untill it began to do it thick and fast............replaced both bags few months ago and never dropped since.

The modes of SLS can be selected only with tester.

ok so had the coil conversion but in reverse the warning light comes on is this important will it cause problems also left the height sensors on is this ok ??